How to Create the Perfect Car Playlist

Heading on a road trip? Once you’ve checked your tyres, made sure your car is long journey-ready, gathered your snacks, and entered your destination into the sat nav, there’s one more crucial step to complete before you go: queuing up the perfect car playlist.

While the radio can always be on standby, sometimes you want to be your own DJ and set the right musical mood in your cabin. With so many genres to choose from, making your car playlist for an anticipated journey can be an exciting activity to add to your itinerary. There’s a certain kind of magic to a good playlist that creates memories for years to come! Besides, a good car playlist increases the chances of a little “CAReoke”...

At Kwik Fit, as well as being experts in tyres and vehicle safety, we’re also fond of motoring music. So, if you’re looking for some inspiration, be sure to check out Kwik Fit’s playlists or read on for some advice about curating your own.

Tailoring your playlist to your journey

There’s a whole host of factors to consider when crafting the perfect playlist such as journey length and passenger preference. Let’s take a closer look at these now.

Firstly, consider what time you will be driving; if you start your journey first thing, it may be a bit too early to start off with the super-loud rock-n-roll ballads. Though, planning your playlist to wake up with you might be advisable (and we’re not one to judge if you fancy heavy metal at 6 am).

• If you’re only commuting to and from work, you might want to opt for an upbeat or calming mix to set the tone of the day or to unwind after a day of work. 
• In comparison, if you have a longer journey ahead, your playlist might involve some sing-along classics to keep your energy levels up. 
• For driving at night, relaxing and atmospheric tracks with a beat will help you stay calm but focused. 

Selecting the songs in your playlist to have a seamless flow will look very impressive to any passengers on board. For example, you may want to start strong with an attention-grabbing track and then build momentum by increasing tempo or energy. Alternatively, your journey may need some slower songs to allow breaks for your back-seat performer — but make sure to end on a high note with a nostalgic favourite!

Setting the mood with music

Having so many genres of music at our fingertips is very exciting but sometimes means that we just can’t settle on a song to match our mood. Of course, you might know exactly what you fancy, but if you want our advice, different journeys deserve different genres. 

• Many find that rock and indie music suit road trips; this is where you’ll find some of the classics where your passengers can practice their air guitars or pretend they’ve got drums in front of them. 
• For fun drives, like going to a party or family gathering, you may want to fill your playlist with some pop hits. 
• Commuting to and from work may require some lo-fi or jazz for a relaxing ambience to get you ‘in the zone’.

As a safety note, when curating the perfect car playlist, you should always try to avoid overly distracting music or anything too soporific that could, in equal measure, distract or disengage you from concentrating on the road. 

Consider the crowd

When you’re making your playlist, you've also got to consider your passengers and make sure you select enough crowd-pleasers to keep those in the back seats happy. A lot of music streaming services nowadays have features where people can add to your playlist through a “jam” and, whilst you as the driver may not be able to queue anything on your phone, your passengers will be able to if there’s a last-minute request. 

Make sure to compromise and include everyone — we all have different tastes, and no one wants to feel excluded. Exploring different genres will liven up the journey and you may even find you discover a new favourite song.

If you’ve got children in the car, you may want to consider removing any explicit songs and replacing them with ones that they can sing along to. Nursery rhymes are quite catchy after all …Of course, if this is a solo trip, you can keep it “Radio Me” with exclusively your music!

Have back-up playlists

Lastly, if you’re halfway down the M4 and beginning to feel like the current sound is not quite cutting it, you’ll definitely want to have other playlists to hand. Having an assortment of different playlists is a surefire way to keep the road trip exciting or to tone it down if you need a break from belting out the ballads. 

Safety first with Kwik Fit

We all secretly love a sing-song and, for some, the car is the perfect spot for a concert. Though, whilst plenty of drivers find that music keeps them focused on the road, it can be distracting. Stay alert, take regular breaks, and be sure not to use your phone if you are behind the wheel.

Listening to a song you’re not in the mood for is much better than going on your phone to change it and risking an accident. Make sure your priority is safe driving and practising the Highway Code, no matter how many hit songs are on your playlist. 

For all of your car-related queries, check out our blogs, contact us, or visit your local Kwik Fit centre for more information.